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10 Cognitive Distortions That Can Cause Negative Thinking

Takeaways:

Cognitive distortions are unhelpful or unhealthy patterns of thinking. Left unchecked, these thought patterns can sap motivation, erode self-esteem, and contribute to challenges such as anxiety, depression, and substance use. This article identifies ten common distortions, and provides methods for overcoming them:

1. All-or-Nothing Thinking: Here, we view situations in absolute terms—success or failure, good or bad—without recognizing nuance or middle ground. This binary thinking can make small issues seem insurmountable. To overcome this, we must recognize that progress is never linear; it exists on a spectrum. Replace absolute, self-defeating thoughts with more balanced ones and expect bumps in the road.
2. Overgeneralization: It is never healthy to draw broad, negative conclusions based on a single event or limited experience. Avoid “absolutes” like “always” or “never” when describing yourself or your path. Instead, use more realistic language and remind yourself that one experience does not define all future outcomes.
3. Mental Filtering: This is when an individual focuses exclusively on negative details while filtering out positive or neutral aspects of a situation. It can seem that these people willfully ignore positive developments in their lives. Do not be this person. Instead, intentionally shift attention to include positive and neutral elements. Journaling and gratitude meditation are great ways to do this.
4. Discounting the Positive: A close cousin of Mental filtering, this is when someone
   minimizes positive experiences by attributing them to luck or external factors outside of themselves. It is much more productive to reframe successes by acknowledging how your skills, effort, and strengths contributed to the outcome.
5. Jumping to Conclusions: This one is very common: making negative assumptions without evidence, either by assuming others’ thoughts or predicting a negative future outcome. Creating hypothetical problems and treating them as certainties. Instead, we must pause to examine the facts, ask questions, and challenge initial assumptions when assessing a situation.
6. Magnification: Here, an individual exaggerates flaws and problems while minimizing strengths and positive qualities. One can counter this by identifying these exaggerated thoughts and replace them with more realistic, balanced perspectives.
7. Emotional Reasoning: It can be very easy to believe that strong, raw emotions reflect an objective truth about our quality as human beings. We may feel shame or embarrassment, but that does not necessarily mean that we are shameful or embarrassing people. One can learn to separate feelings from facts and remind themselves that emotions are not hard proof of our essential qualities.
8. “Should” Statements: Holding yourself to rigid, unrealistic standards that create guilt, anxiety, or avoidance. I should have known better, or I shouldn’t have said that!
   It is easier to practice self-compassion and replace “should” statements with more flexible, realistic expectations.
9. Labeling: This is the process of defining yourself by a single behavior or mistake, rather than viewing actions as separate from identity. It is so easy to let a single misstep tarnish you forever, but it is hugely counterproductive. Instead, challenge labels by seeking evidence that contradicts them and distinguishing opinions from facts.
10. Personalization and Blame: This represents taking full responsibility for outcomes shaped by factors beyond your control—something especially common in the workplace. It’s rare that a mistake rests solely on one person, so try to ease self-blame by acknowledging external influences and shared contributing factors rather than assigning total responsibility to yourself.

By Elizabeth Hartney, BSc, MSc, MA, PhD for VeryWell Mind
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